Charles Haley ('87)

In Charles Haley's case, changing the world means being one of a kind. He is the first and only NFL player to be a member of five Super Bowl championship teams. One of the all-time great NFL defenders, Haley was a vital force with the San Francisco 49ers, who won the Super Bowl in 1989 and 1990, and the Dallas Cowboys, who took the ring in 1993, 1994 and 1996. This Duke was picked by San Francisco in the 1986 NFL Draft and acquired by Dallas in 1993. He later chronicled his hard-charging career in All the Rage: The Life of an NFL Renegade. At JMU, Haley was named an All-American as a senior and never missed a game during his career with the Dukes. In 2003, when Haley received the Ronald E. Carrier Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, he said it was his Madison Experience and his JMU coach, Challace McMillin, who made it possible for him to achieve NFL greatness and hold onto his values: "Coach McMillin, you're a father figure for me. ... He taught me to set my goals high. ... I just felt at home when I came to Madison, and I just enjoyed the whole experience."